


A candle in the cold

by rapono



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Hypothermia, Reader Insert, Snow Storm, gender neutral reader, self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:33:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26283460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rapono/pseuds/rapono
Summary: Rumor has it that Herobrine is warm, a toasty warm like an oven, a side effect of being from the nether. You thought nothing much of this rumor, just a mildly interesting thing to think about, until one day, this possible little fun fact ends up coming in clutch.
Relationships: Herobrine & Reader
Comments: 7
Kudos: 87





	A candle in the cold

**Author's Note:**

> Dug up some of my old minecraft/Herobrine headcanons and lore and decided to add "warm like a furnace" to the mix for funsies. And then I felt tempted to write a lil' fic about it and well here we are.

You hadn’t prepared to explore a tundra. Sure, you had also decided to explore the biome a little bit, but you also hadn’t expected to get lost.

It was cold, too cold, body shaking and teeth chattering. The clothes you were wearing weren’t warm enough for this weather, and the few pieces of armour you had seemed to be of little to no help in keeping out the cold.

Still, you had to press onward. You had lost your sense of direction in the snow storm, and thusly now your only guarantee out was to move forward. Eventually, you’d find the end of this biome. Unfortunately, that wasn't yet.

As you scanned the area ahead of you for signs of any familiar landmarks, you saw them. Something you never thought you would see, and hoped you would be spared from seeing; A pair of glowing white eyes in the distance. 

Great, now you were double screwed. If hypothermia wasn't gonna kill you, _he_ was. Still, you trudged forward through the snow, arms wrapped around your own shivering body.

Then, you remembered something. A rumor your friend had heard, that the great ruler of the Nether, Herobrine, was warm like a furnace. Which kind of made sense, based on the fact he came from a very hot place. You scanned your surroundings for him once more, finding him still staring in your direction, and possibly a little closer than before.

It was stupid idea, but based on how long you’d been wandering the tundra, and the fact he was the only landmark you recognized in this snowy hellscape, it felt like the better bet to take your chances with the entity rather than the unforgiving storm. So steeling yourself best you could, you stopped, turn towards him, and started walking again.

Despite the flurry obscuring your vision, you could still see Herobrine shift in what was likely confusion, confirming that this stupid idea you had committed yourself to didn’t seem to be his. Despite this, he neither approached nor backed away, likely curious to see what you would do. 

And you just kept on trudging towards him, despite your aching and numbing limbs.

Eventually you got close enough to see him clearly, and that caused you to stop in your tracks. He was much more intimidating up close, towering and with splotches of not his blood staining his worn out clothes. His grin darkened as he saw you stop. 

He did seem unaffected by the searing cold of the storm, no shivers or rubbing his arms. His breath was quite noticeable against the cold air, steam seemingly pouring out his mouth with every breath. You could feel his blank gaze judging you.

“What's wrong? Not who you expected?”

Ah, he probably thought you had stopped because you realized he was Herobrine and not someone else. Wrong reason, but you had still stopped in fear and awe.

“…no.” Your voice cracked from weakness and the cold.

That certainly caught him off guard, a shocked expression crossing over his face for a moment. It quickly shifted back to smugness however, but now with a strong look of curiosity accompanying it.

“Interesting. Then why did you approach?”

You knew the answer, but now being confronted with saying it out loud, you found yourself being stabbed in the gut by the white hotblade of shame. You didn’t know if you could say it outloud, whether that it was out of fear or the fact your body was starting to freeze over from inactivity. But you did know that time was running out 

It was do or die time.

So with a surge of adrenaline and confidence, you closed the distance between you two, and wrapped your arms around him.

“What the-"

Oh. Oh he was warm. _Very_ warm. 

You felt the chill in your body leave as you clutched onto him desperately, Herobrine himself frozen in confusion. He was just like the rumors had said, abnormally warm, like a furnace, but unlike one, he was not too hot to touch. Sensation began to return to your numbed limbs as you held onto him.

Well, looks like you weren’t gonna die from hypothermia anymore. That however didn’t mean you weren't gonna die. After all, you currently had your face buried in soul-snatching myth's chest. It was only a matter of time before your body went cold for a different reason.

Instead of feeling the bite of diamond piercing your flesh however, you felt his body start to shake. At first, you were confused. Was he cold? Was he shaking with anger? What was wrong?

You heard a rumble start to bubble up in his chest, and then it hit you. He was laughing. Herobrine was laughing at you, but not in a mocking tone. No, with the way he was laughing and the warm rumble in his tone, this sounded like a good genuine laugh. 

You weren’t sure if that was a good thing, but you felt some of your fear melt away at the sound.

“Using me to warm yourself up?” His tone was a teasing one this time, clearly amused.

You felt your face heat up at the acknowledgement of your actions, and you instinctively burrowed your face deeper into his shirt out of embarrassment. You weren’t sure why you were suddenly more concerned about feeling embarrassed about your actions more than the looming threat of death, but alas. Your reaction had been enough to answer his question, as another chuckle rumbled in his chest.

“Thought so. Here, let me help.”

And to your surprise, you soon found strong arms wrapped around your body, helping you thaw. You gripped him tighter on response, as a bubbly feeling rose up in your chest.

Holy shit. Herobrine was hugging you back.

Tears welled up in your eyes as he held you in his embrace. You didn’t deserve this. Why was he taking pity on you? Was he just lulling you into a false sense of security before he’d tear your soul right out of your chest? Why? Why did hugging him feel so nice?

You shivered, the cold wild still lashing at any piece of exposed skin despite the warmth the legend radiated. You sniffled, trying to muffle it. He seemed to take notice of your distress, giving you a pat on the back.

“Still cold? Let’s get you out of here. Hold on tight.”

You silently nodded into his chest, and gripped him tighter. He did the same to you, holding you close and tightly against himself, before everything suddenly shifted. For a split second, it had felt like you were both floating in nothingness and being torn apart at the same time, before you quickly realized it was both suddenly warmer, and no longer windy. You shifted your head and gaze away from him to look at what had happened.

You weren’t in the tundra anymore. There was no snow, no pine trees. This looked like the plains. He must've teleported you.

Your throat was still dry and raspy from earlier, but you felt the need to speak.

“…thank you.”

He moved one of his hands from your back, and gave you a nice gentle pat on the head.

“It’s of no issue to me. I didn’t _really_ have any plans tonight.”

You assumed he meant “plans to kill you” or someone else, but didn’t feel the need to have that question answered.

You could feel the warmth properly spreading throughout your body, now without the cold wind eating it away. The heat radiating off of him made quick work of the layer of frost that had been coating you. The hand on your head brushed through your hair, before wrapping around your body once more.

This was nice, too nice, and you felt yourself tensing up in anticipation for something awful to happen. 

“Let me know when you’re warm enough.”

Or, maybe nothing awful did have to happen. Maybe, maybe Herobrine was nicer than people said. Just because one rumor turned out to be correct, didn’t mean all of them were.

Eventually your fingertips and toes no longer felt numb, and despite enjoying the embrace, you felt like you had overstayed your welcome. So hesitantly, you broke the embrace, the legend allowing you to escape his grip. Glancing up at his blank, glowing eyes, you gave him a nervous smile, him returning once without the nervousness.

“Warm enough?”

You nodded in response. He smiled widened, before his expression shifted to a more ominous and serious one.

“Now don’t go telling anyone. After all, I have a reputation to keep, and I bet you can imagine what might happen if you do.”

You gulped and nodded nervously, not needing to be told anymore to understand the threat. 

“Good. Now head home, you look like you could use some rest.”

You blinked and he was gone, as if he had simply been a figment of your imagination, a hallucination that finally fizzled away. The lingering feeling of warmth in your body told you it wasn’t, this wasn't a dream.

Herobrine really was warm like a furnace, and you had hugged him to prove that theory true.

**Author's Note:**

> did I write another self indulgent hug fic for my touch starved ass? Yes, yes I did. Will I stop writing these types of oneshots anytime soon? Nope.
> 
> Feel free to bother me at rapono-writes-stuff on tumblr.


End file.
